Top Six Adult Jokes Hidden in Children’s Cartoons

Everyone has heard the legends that crude, sexual references and jokes have been sneaked into Disney cartoons over the years. There’s a big dick on the poster for The Little Mermaid. The naked woman in The Rescuers. The floating “SEX” cloud in The Lion King. And who could forget the gang-bang in The Brave Little Toaster?

But enough about those filthy degenerates over at Disney. Besides, there’s a difference between merely sneaking words like “sex” (tee hee!) into your film for less than one second of screen-time and actually incorporating cleverly placed dirty jokes into the script. Over the years, cartoon creators have lobbed plenty of these over the heads of the network censors, and part of the fun of getting older (well…the only fun part of getting older) is going back and watching the cartoons we loved as kids and appreciating them on a whole new level. Here are some of our favorite moments:

“Rugrats”: Grandpa Lou’s Porn Stash

“Rugrats” was the obnoxious Nickelodeon show you had to suffer through to get to “Rocko’s Modern Life” (more on that one later). But they did have a great character in Grandpa Lou:

So there you have it. After the babies go to bed, grandpa spanks it. To bizarre, space-themed porn.

“2 Stupid Dogs”: Backseat Action at the Drive-in

A short-lived Hanna-Barbera series that ran on TBS in the mid-’90s, “2 Stupid Dogs” featured the occasional mild adult gag. (The show featured several Spümcø artists contributing material, as well as small contributions from “Ren & Stimpy” creator John Kricfalusi himself.) There was very little subtle about this scene, however:

I don’t know this, but I’m going to guess that this was not over the heads of the networks censors. No, for whatever reason, they said, “Ah hell, let’s run this.” The cars are rocking back and forth. Their shocks are squeaking. Even the people in the car on the movie screen are doing it.

“Animaniacs”: The Infamous “Fingerprints” Gag

This may be the filthiest moment in cartoon history:

Two things strike me: first, that little smile on Prince’s face when he hears “finger Prince” kills me. Second, the visual images created by this whole scenario are about as disturbing as you can get.

“Rocko’s Modern Life”: The No-Tell Motel

As far sneaking adult content into a show, the creators of “Rocko’s Modern Life” were kings. This scene, from the 17th episode of the second season (entitled “Road Rash”), only made it onto the air once before being cut from re-runs:

Either the jokes in “Rocko’s Modern Life” were too subtle to be picked up by the types of people who would protest them, or they benefited from airing alongside “The Ren & Stimpy Show,” which drew much ire for their over-the-top style. Which leads us to…

“The Ren & Stimpy Show”: Stimpy and Sven’s Circus Fun

“Ren & Stimpy” was full of weird shit. Like this. And this. And this. And who could forget this banned classic? Still, my favorite moment from this show occurred when Ren’s cousin Sven came to visit:

“Juggler” and “bearded lady” kind of tip you off to the activities going on “in the closet.” Stimpy’s pronouncement, “I”m a sword swallower!” followed by the gulping noise and the “oops” seals it.

“The Ren & Stimpy Show” was accused for years of repeated homosexual innuendo and speculation that the eponymous characters were gay. Their resurrection in “Ren & Stimpy’s Adult Party Cartoon” confirmed it in multiple episodes.

“Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures” was a groundbreaking television show. Broadcast on Saturday mornings on CBS from 1987 to 1988, the show was the brainchild of animation legend Ralph Bakshi and was a springboard for many cartoonists, animators, and voice actors. They included, among others, John Kricfalusi (“Ren & Stimpy”), Jim Reardon (“The Simpsons,” “Tiny Toons,” Wall-E), Tom Minton (“Animaniacs,” “Tiny Toons”), Bruce Timm (“Batman: The Animated Series”), Rich Moore (“Futurama”), and Maggie Roswell (“The Simpsons”). During a time when Saturday morning cartoons were formulaic devices to sell toys (like this, or this, or this, or even the goddamned “Tiger Sharks“), “Mighty Mouse” brought craziness and creative animation back to cartoons.

In “The Littlest Tramp,” Mighty is seen snorting the remains of a pink flower (not white, as many media sources claimed) that was crushed earlier in the episode. Though Bakshi vehemently defended his show, the controversy first cost John Kricfalusi his job and, ultimately, led to the show’s demise. Bakshi discusses “Mighty Mouse” and the controversy here.

“Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures” is now out on DVD. If you’ve never seen this (or have long since forgotten about it), get ready to discover a classic.

me too want sex at my house some times huh?? u r a slut that needs too be fucked.

bo

hey uh “sexy” thats a guy….

Sam

“‘Rugrats’ was the obnoxious Nickelodeon show you had to suffer through to get to ‘Rocko’s Modern Life’”

I’m sorry, but WHAT? I lived on Rugrats for half my childhood.

alyssa

me too!!!!!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/canderemy1995 Zac Lane

I also disagree that it’s obnoxious. How?! The show was great, very funny, well-developed characters, light-hearted humour and to me, rivals Ren and Stimpy as my favorite Nicktoon.

To me, there’s a reason why it became Nick’s flagship Nicktoon. However, I do accept the author’s opinion, and I do think Grandpa Lou was great. It’s not the worst Rugrats criticism I have seen(Compared to the nitpickers that tear apart the later episodes, for silly reasons like: Change in music and not going into detail as to why they don’t like Dil and Kimi).

ÇℜΔÇK_ℵΙℵℑΔΔ

the author must have been abused as a child….. Rugrats was awesome.

octopussoup

Rugrats had quite a bit of stuff that was entertaining for adults (not adult jokes perhaps) that kids didn’t get.

Jerry

I agree! When I read that, I was enraged! Rugrats was a beautiful piece of my childhood!

Rick

Some folks just read into some show far too much!!

http://gmail.com mak

im suprised they did not show win tommy sed i nead sompthing small to stick in this hole and stuck his hands in his diper

Pat

Wow your grammar is terrible. Not to mention spelling…

bill

“So it makes you a better person to just throw that out there in front of the world. gess it made you feel like a better person….

Nikki

She was right tho…

Ana

“Lonley Space Vixens *creepy eyebrows*… but that’s for AFTER you go to bed.”
You know. Now that I think about it, there were plenty of inuendos dropped in The Rugrats. I, of course, never noticed them, but now that I look back and rewatch some of them (Netflix HELL YEAH), I start laughing.

http://Vermicidemagazine Bellak1

Those stupid animals reminded me of me especially the dumbest one. I got sooooo scared when that creepy thing was saying what he was going to.

tayler 14

i love rugrats i never saw the dirty stuff in it but i did in sponge bob ( mr krabs lives in bikini bottom, relly)

IAmLars

Everyone on the show lives in Bikini Bottom

John

Add the very first scene of the Dexter’s Lab movie. Where Dexter’s mum and dad are off screen and you can hear Dad saying “a little further, almost got it…” and Mum making a moaning sound — while they’re playing twister. That’s a winner.

lily

that ten and stumpy is some weird shit!!!!

Jessie

Okay, I give up… Brave Toaster gangbang? Wtf?! I can’t find this anywhere, and my four-year-old LOVES this movie. We’ve watched it repeatedly the last few weeks. So was the gangbang a joke? Is it really there? I’m dying to know!

When I was a kid, I could not stand, in any form, Casper. ‘Friendly’ ghost-my ass… He haunted my dreams. To make matters worse, we accidentally found the creepiest episode of this demonic white puff ever made when we bought a VHS at a yard sale labeled “random cartoons.” I think it was called A Night of Boos, or something. It opens up with Casper reading a book next to his own grave by candle light. That’s when you know, it’s gonna be good. He end up befriending a cute little fox (aww) he names Ferdie. Guess what happens to Ferdie. Yeah, that’s right. He gets shot by hunters, and Casper buries him. DEATH. Wtf, Harvey?!

[anonymous]

You should be happy to hear that it was a joke the author made up. When you click on the link in this article, you get taken to a “just kidding” picture.

Billy

the mighty mouse thing was not cocaine

KittyKitteh

OMFG I never knew Ren and Stimpy was gay :O

No wonder why every time it aired I switched it off and no wonder it aired at like 11PM Australian EST!

greendayx100pre

Those are really fucked up, man

solitaire

How in the name of god is nothing from SpongeBob on this list? I quote Plankton, after his computer (and wife) Karen mentions how plankton installed her;
“It was only our second date!”

disqus_qAvlm6uCKr

the Ren and Stimpy part it wasnt them doing what you think they were actually playing with their own poop you can hear the sand being scooped and all that weird stuff

Chelsea Peterson

ren and stimpy were named best cartoon of the 90′s
why do ppl keep on making perverted assumptions about kids shows ? bert and ernie for one. kids don’t understand…. leave it at that. and maybe the producers were actually not meaning anything buy it…..

IAmLars

You lose all credibility by saying Rugrats was obnoxious.

Tim Cavey

The Rugrats are godawful.

Hershey Maxwell Barber

This is why kids who grew up in the 90′s and are such down to earth people.

Brandon Roberts

rugrats was a great show i loved it when i was a child and although i also watched rockos modren life as a kid and liked it it was completley bizzare snob